Hey, Los Angeles, we're No. 1! ... in dogs biting postal workers

Los Angeles worst city for dog attacks on U.S. postal workers last year

Who let the dog out? Because it just bit a postal worker.

That at least is a far too common scenario in Los Angeles, which ranked first in the nation with 74 dog attacks on postal employees last year, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

That fact has the federal agency preparing to have its letter carriers undergo professional training on how to respond to dog attacks.

The greater Los Angeles area is the "dog bite capital of the nation," with over 416 postal workers attacked while working in Los Angeles and Orange counties last year, according to USPS.

L.A's 2014 total rose from 61 the year before, when it was ranked No. 2 behind Houston.

The training for letter carriers will take place Thursday morning at the San Pedro post office.

The dog attack figures were released ahead of National Dog Bite Prevention week, May 16-22.

Mail carrier and dog

Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

The city of Los Angeles ranked highest in the nation for dog attacks on postal employees last year.

The city of Los Angeles ranked highest in the nation for dog attacks on postal employees last year.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Dogs biting, or chasing, postal workers is a cliche of popular American entertainment, portrayed in movies and TV. But it's a cliche for a reason: Because dog versus mail carrier confrontations happen quite a bit.

More than 5,700 letter carriers were victims of dog attacks last year across the U.S. Among other cities in California, Long Beach ranked No. 14 with 27 attacks, Pasadena was No. 24 with 16 attacks, and Whittier ranked No. 30 with 10 attacks.